Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, Mr. Minister.
As you know this committee has been studying Canada's forest industry for the past few months. Overwhelmingly what we've been hearing is that the industry is no longer in a state of crisis but rather in a process of very strong renewal. In 2013 the industry posted its highest revenues in many years and witnesses have stated that this renewal is in part due to this government's strategic investments in programs.
Would you like to expand on the $22.8 million that is committed to renew the investments in the forest industry transformation program, which you mentioned in your opening remarks? Witnesses at this committee have in particular pointed to this program as a positive one. To quote James Irving, who thanked the federal government for this program when he was here in February:
It's helped us and other companies innovate, and that's a well-run program that we think Canada is getting good value from. It helped address some of our challenges and improve our competitiveness.
With that in mind, how are you and your department ensuring the investments in the IFIT program support the development and the commercialization of technologies? How many projects have we been funding so far?